1997 - China released Wei Jingsheng, a pro-democracy dissident from
jail for medical reasons. He had been incarcerated for
almost 18 years.

1998 - In Burlington, WIsconsin, five high school students, aged 15
to 16, were arrested in an alleged plot to kill a carefully
selected group of teachers and students.

1998 - It was announced that Monica Lewinsky had signed a deal for
the North American rights to a book about her affair with
U.S. President Clinton.

1998 - The U.S. Supreme Court said that union members could file
discrimination lawsuits against employers even when labor
contracts require arbitration.

1999 - Johnny Depp received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1999 - Chrica Adams, the pregnant girlfriend of Rae Carruth, was shot four times in her car. She died a month later from her wounds. The baby survived. Carruth was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years and 11 months in prison for his role in the murder.

2000 - Bill Clinton became the first serving U.S. president to visit Communist Vietnam.

2004 - A NASA unmanned "scramjet" (X-43A) reached a speed of nearly 10 times the speed of sound above the Pacific Ocean.